page_title: Naval Air Station Keflavik
section_title: Operations
hierarchical_section_title: Naval Air Station Keflavik / Operations
caption_attribution_description: A U.S. Navy Lockheed P-3C-115-LO Orion aircraft (BuNo 156522) from Patrol Squadron 56 (VP-56) Dragons taxis along the flight line at Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland, in 1977. 156522 was retired on 18 January 2005.
context_page_description: Naval Air Station Keflavik was a U.S. Navy station at Keflavík International Airport, Iceland, located on the Reykjanes peninsula on the south-west portion of the island. NASKEF was closed on 8 September 2006, and its facilities were taken over by the Icelandic Defence Agency as their primary base until 1 January 2011, when the Agency was abolished and the base handed over to the Icelandic Coast Guard, which has since then operated the base.
  The base was built during World War II by the United States Army as part of its mission to maintain the defense of Iceland and secure northern Atlantic air routes. It served to ferry personnel, equipment, and supplies to Europe. Intended as a temporary wartime base under an agreement with Iceland and the British, US forces withdrew by 1947 but returned in 1951 as the Iceland Defense Force resident on a North Atlantic Treaty Organization base. The base was regularly visited by the American military and other NATO allies for military exercises, NATO Air Policing, and other tasks.
context_section_description: Naval Air Station Keflavik was the host command for all U.S. defense activities in Iceland. The major commands stationed on the base were the USAF's 85th Group, Fleet Air Keflavik, the headquarters of the U.S.-provided Iceland Defense Force, Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station (NCTS) Keflavik, U.S. Naval Hospital Keflavik and the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) shore terminal at Naval Facility (NAVFAC) Keflavik. The positions of Commander, Fleet Air Keflavik and Commander, Iceland Defence Force were held by the same U.S. Navy rear admiral. There were more than 25 different commands of various sizes and personnel from the US Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard in Iceland.  Also present were representatives from Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark.
  NASKEF was responsible for providing all support facilities, including the runways, housing, supply and recreational facilities.
  The primary mission of Naval Air Station Keflavik was to maintain and operate facilities and provide services and material to support operations of aviation activities and units of the operating forces of the Navy and other activities and units, as designated by the Chief of Naval Operations.
  U.S. Navy use of the facility allowed the housing of rotational P-3 Orion squadrons, aircraft, flight crews, maintenance and administrative support personnel from their CONUS home bases for six-month deployments in support of antisubmarine warfare and maritime patrol missions until 2004.  As a NATO mission, the U.S. Navy P-3s were frequently augmented by U.S. Navy Reserve P-3 squadrons and detachments of Canadian Forces CP-140 Aurora, Royal Netherlands Navy P-3, German Navy Breguet Atlantique and Royal Air Force Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol aircraft.
  Army National Guard units and Interim Marine Security Forces stormed the lava fields surrounding the base during training exercises such as Northern Viking.
  NAS Keflavik employed approximately 900 Icelandic civilians who worked with military personnel, providing the services necessary to operate the base. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, the airfield was available for maritime patrol activities, air defense and for transiting aircraft between North America and Europe, in addition to supporting Iceland's international civilian aviation.
  The NATO base did not have a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the Icelandic Government and the base lacked the roadway entrance security gates characteristic of most military installations, having only Icelandic Customs officials instead. Icelandic nationals had unrestricted access to most of the base, especially since the civilian international airport terminal was also located on the base at the time.  Icelandic nationals were only barred from actual security-restricted military facilities such as aircraft parking areas, squadron and hangar facilities and classified operations centers. During the height of the Cold War, this access situation created definitive operational security (OPSEC) concerns by U.S. and NATO officials due to potential espionage activities by Soviet operatives masquerading as Icelandic nationals.  In addition, during this same time period, the former Soviet Union constructed one of their largest embassy facilities in the nearby capital, Reykjavik, which doubled as a diplomatic cover for intelligence collection activities against U.S. and NATO military forces. Access to the base was restricted to authorized military and civilian personnel after the construction of a new civilian passenger terminal on the opposite side of the airfield in the mid-1980s.
  The base offered a wide variety of recreational services which included bowling, swimming, gymnasium, theater, social clubs, a Wendy's restaurant, and hobby centers. Other services included a Navy Exchange, commissary, bank, credit union, hospital, beauty shop, tour office and morale flights to the rest of Europe and the United States. Golfing was available in a nearby community.
  The American base staff had their own names for va
caption: A U.S. Navy P-3C Orion of Patrol Squadron 56 (VP-56) at Keflavik, 1977.
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